Plymouth to Woodsville ROW

Can anyone tell me of the old B&M ROW from Plymouth to Woodsville NH can be traced? I looked on Google maps, but it was hard to see much due to the thick tree cover of the area. The ROW has only been abandoned for 50 years, so there must be parts of it that can be hiked or Mountain biked. Are there any rails left or plans to use this corridor for recreation?

Thank you for any info.

This line was abandoned and torn up over 50 years ago and the ROW has
likely been sold to others.
Noel Weaver

Don't be so negative, Noel! At least some parts of the ROW exist. At Rumney Depot, SR25 is the railbed. In West Rumney, the railbed takes off from SR25 to the north as a road. Leaves the road and crosses a few creeks (presumably without bridges), becomes a road again, joins SR25, leaves it at Wentworth to head NNE, then joins SR25 again.

Lots to see even if the non-SR25 road portions are gated off.
http://rutlandtrail.org/gmap.cgi?BnM-pl ... e.nh.track

It existed from Woodsville to North Haverhill until the late Eighties. There were a few customers in North Haverhill and it dead ended at Route 116, across from the North Haverhill Depot (which is not a private home). I remember driving up route 10 alongside a train with a few cars full of lumber headed towards Woodsville sometime around 1986. The ROW is intact and can be driven for quite a ways between North Haverhill and Pike and is visible from Route 25 quite frequently between East Haverhill and Plymouth.

RussNelson wrote:Don't be so negative, Noel! At least some parts of the ROW exist. At Rumney Depot, SR25 is the railbed. In West Rumney, the railbed takes off from SR25 to the north as a road. Leaves the road and crosses a few creeks (presumably without bridges), becomes a road again, joins SR25, leaves it at Wentworth to head NNE, then joins SR25 again.

Lots to see even if the non-SR25 road portions are gated off.
http://rutlandtrail.org/gmap.cgi?BnM-pl ... e.nh.track

Not being negative, just stating a fact. It was a very scenic line but
unfortunately, the Boston and Maine did not need two through routes
between Boston and the northern Connecticut River Valley area of New
Hampshire and Vermont. The line to White River Junction was shorter,
had much less grades and better connections through White River Junction
than through Woodsville.
I have not explored that area very much but often railroad lines that have
been gone for this long are pretty hard to follow, often but not always.
Noel Weaver

A couple years ago (about 2002) we followed it, by car, from Plymouth to Woodsville. What parts of it are not the actual highway you're on, were, if I recall right, completely (or nearly so) intact. We even drove on part of it, directly adjacent to some river, not too far west of Rumney if memory serves me well. It was a dirt road, suitable for autos. We found it, because the name of the street was "Old Railroad Line Avenue" or something like that. It's just off of Rte. 25.

From Plymouth to Rumney it's real easy to spot, as it has power lines on it.

Some parts of it elsewhere appear to be quite well maintained as snomobile and hiking trails, too. Other parts are just forgotten paths through the woods, although they ARE "locatable" and "intact", and might be suitable for biking or hiking.

We had the "New Hampshire Atlas and Gazetteer", by DeLorme Maps, to guide us. It was an older edition (1980s) that showed (in dotted lines) the ROW and even the location of former depots. Updated versions of the Gazetteer, to my knowledge, tend to omit abandoned ROWs, but don't quote me on this.

In Warren, NH, there is a nice little historical marker thing in the center of town with some photos and comments on the RR through town, and its demise.

One of the neatest things, chasing the ROW, was that in Warren, we came across the "Warren Rocket", a spaceship (actually a missile) right in the town center! (And right where the railroad ROW is). A spaceship was just about the LAST thing anyone would expect to see in a New Hampshire town.

http://hikethewhites.com/photos/warren.jpg

In the photo, there is a road in the foreground, then a brown line (a dirt path) going right across the middle of the foreground, then the buildings and the rocket in the background. The "brown line/dirt path" is probably the ROW, and I'm 99% sure that it is, but I simply do not recall if it was in this spot, or on the far side of the buildings and the rocket. Maybe someone more familiar with Warren NH can confirm. Anyway it cuts right through town and is a well-maintained dirt road in this particular area.

In most of the towns through which it goes, you can clearly see where it comes out of the woods into town, and then tucks back into the woods. I think the only place we had trouble spotting it was in Wentworth NH. Basically, we had no trouble following it and finding it except for Wentworth and (maybe) a couple other spots.

There were no rails left on any portion that I recall, and it looks like they had just recently ripped the rails out at Woodsville. It looked like until fairly recently, there had been a yard and roundhouse at Woodsville that may have survived right into the 1990s. Anyone able to confirm this?

-John K.

There is quite a lot to explore between Plymouth and Woodsville.
Using my Delorme New Hampshire Atlas, I traced the route from Plymouth to Woodsville 2 years ago. Some highlights.
Do not turn onto Rt 25 at Plymouth but continue on Rt 3 North for the next left on Fairgrounds Rd. The ROW will be seen coming from the left and cross and recross the road before you reach Rumney. Cross the river to Rt 25 and turn right, now on the row. The row leaves Rt 25 at West Rumney and follows the river.
At Wentworth, before crossing the river on Rt 25, take a right on East Side Rd. On your left is the restored station (moved). The row crossed this road at a lumder mill about a 1/4 mile further on. You will pick it up very distinctly between you and the river on this road toward Warren. At Warren the station is still in the original location but modified. Near the rocket is a narrow ATV/ Snowmobile trail that is the original row. I would recommend only a 4X4 or Mt Bike as it is narrow, either on a fill or long cut, and all uphill, with one stream to cross. You regain Rt 25 at Glencliff. The station is still at Pike, although the bridge and fill crossing the river and Rt 25, have been removed. It now is on your right to Haverhill Depot which is still on the row, take a right on Ladd St after turning right on Rt 10 to Woodsville. The station at North Haverhill is still standing, a right on Rt 116. At Woodsville the lower yard is now choked with trees and the row through town was removed in 1993? to make way for a snowmobile/ mt Bike trail. The depot and bridge across the Ct River still stand in Woodsville. Really a lot to see if you know where to look.

Bob M

Thanks for the info John and Bob.

Sometime this spring I'll probably drive the route and get some pictures of the surviving stations along the route. I always thought it would make sense for parts of the ROW to be tracable since it's only been abandoned for 50 years and it was a rather long segment.

That rocket in Warren seems kind of random, I'll have to get pictures of that too.

Was there any reason that they were so quick to rips up the rails along this route? So many other abandoned ROWs in New Hamsphire seem to retain rails and ties for awhile. It seems odd that they were so quick to elimate any evidence of this line.

The line was abandoned in the 1950's, long before the rail trail mania was even thought of. I think NH wanted the row as a way to eliminate grade crossings and improve the highway Rt 25.
Check at the Walker Transportation Group at the Beverly Historical Society. They have photos of most of the stations. Pike is truly unique and if you didn't know it was a station you would pass it by. The UNH website of historical maps is great for locating the grade as is Mapquest.

Bob M

Yeah, that makes sense that the state would want the ROW for highway improvements. I wonder if there are any rails or mileposts left in the woods. I'm guessing this line never had electronic signals, or there would surely be block signal bases left.

One feature of this corridor that I'd really like to check out is a rock cut north of Warren. I guess it's supposed to be 150 feet long and 65 feet deep. I can't really tell where it is from maps, but was wondering if anyone has ever hiked out it it?

The cut is much longer and the row is driveable from Warren to Glencliff. Its to the West of Rt 25 in its own valley and shows on the Delorme map. It may be gated now. Only one stream to cross at the very end of it.

Bob M

I did a little more research in this ROW, and it turns out that most of the parts that were not taken over for highway improvments can now be hiked or biked. It's nice to know that even though trains will never return tio this corridor, it's at least going to remain somewhat intact for the future. I plan to check this area out one the eather gets warmer.

Also, is there anything left of the yard at Woodsville?

I've been doing more research on this line, and it actually looks like most of the orginal ROW is still around in one form or another. Can anyone tell me if this line ever had electronic signals? I'd also like to see if there are any mileposts left along the line. It seems that most of this line can be biked.